Ideological Reflections on the Discourse Surrounding the Performance of the Sajik Kikoje Ritual during the Reign of King Sukjong

This paper examines the ideological context surrounding the performance of the Sajik Kikoje(社稷祈穀祭) ritual during the reign of King Sukjong in late seventeenth-century Joseon. Amid prolonged famine and natural disasters, the state sought to restore agricultural rites. The Namin faction emphasized chingyeong and seonnong rituals based on historical precedents and native customs but lacked textual justification. In contrast, the Seoin faction—including Kim Su-hung and Song Si-yeol—argued that although Kikokje was an imperial rite, it could be adapted by a vassal state if the intent was emphasized. They cited the Zhouli to justify performing the ritual at Sajik in 1683 and 1695. This shift from form to intent reflects a broader effort to reinterpret Confucian ritual hierarchies. The debates reveal Joseon’s emerging desire to move beyond passive acceptance of Qing-centered order by asserting its own ritual autonomy. The Sajik Kikokje thus marked not only a response to crisis but also a political and ideological assertion of Joseon’s Confucian agency.